A tea-shop owner forced to close her Stamford Bridge business when it was swamped by floods in March is now set to reopen.

Carol Todd prepares to reopen her Waterside Tea Shop following the floods in Stamford Bridge. In the background is the inglenook fireplace uncovered during repair work. Picture by Frank Dwyer

Carol Todd was horrified when the River Derwent burst its banks and left her home and business, The Waterside Tea Shop, under more than three feet of water.

Now, after almost eleven weeks of closure and several thousand pounds worth of repairs, the business is set to open its doors again on Saturday.

Carol, who has been in business there for 15 years, said: "I have been flooded before but never to that extent. When I got the amber warning the night before it happened I followed my usual precautions and presumed it would be all right.

"The next morning, I couldn't get out the back door. My whole business and my home was under water for a full week.

"We had to wait for the river to peak, which seemed to be an eternity, and then it took its time to go down.

"It caused a horrendous amount of damage. Everything was ruined - carpets, curtains, units - and the cooker and boiler had to be written off."

It took seven weeks using humidifiers to dry out the shop and a team of builders have been busy replacing all the plaster and woodwork.

Carol found a slight silver lining to her cloud when builders discovered an old inglenook fireplace, with a 102-year-old penny in the back, while stripping damaged plaster in the tea shop. The fireplace will be a feature when the shop reopens.

She said: "It was a good find but it doesn't make up for having to watch potential customers walk by over these last few weeks of good weather.

"People have been asking me when I'm going to reopen, so hopefully that's a good sign for the business."

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